South Dakota Updates Plumbing Code to 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code

PIERRE, SD — South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden on March 13 signed into law Senate Bill 25 (SB 25), updating the state’s plumbing code to the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC®) from the previously adopted 2015 edition. The adoption was initiated and endorsed by the state’s Plumbing Commission and has the robust support of South Dakota’s plumbing industry. 

Senate Commerce and Energy Committee Chairman David Wheeler, acting at the request of the South Dakota Plumbing Commission, sponsored SB 25 and guided it through the adoption process. The bill passed following a thorough discussion, culminating with a combined bicameral vote of 102 yeas and 2 nays. 

“This passage and update is a testament to the deep roots, allies, and stakeholder partnerships that IAPMO has been able to forge and sustain in South Dakota,” said Jed Scheuermann, IAPMO Vice President of Field Services. “The work of the chair and the committee was essential, acting as a steady, reliable, and amenable hand leading all the way to the governor’s desk. This update helps South Dakotans have access to a newer code that reflects improvements in water conservation, drinking water quality, and plumbing technology.”

Significant Updates

One of the many significant updates from the 2015 UPC to the 2024 UPC is the addition of Appendix M, Peak Water Demand Calculator®. The UPC is the only national model plumbing code with significant updates for water pipe sizing in buildings since the development of Hunter’s Curve more than 80 years ago. It is the result of a multiyear, IAPMO-led effort to develop a new statistically based pipe sizing method stemming from a need to address profound water safety and wasted water and energy concerns due to oversized water supply pipes in homes and buildings.

The UPC requires accredited third-party certification of drinking water treatment devices, fixtures, and components to the relevant American National Standards. The updates within the 2024 UPC are aligned with meticulous and rigorously tested recommendations throughout the plumbing industry. 

Updates that address the evolving water landscape in the Mount Rushmore State and beyond include:

• New provisions for private well water tanks
• New Appendix Q addressing plumbing requirements for indoor horticultural facilities
• New Appendix R providing minimum plumbing system requirements for tiny houses
• New Appendix S with provisions pertaining to onsite stormwater treatment systems

Learn more about the UPC at iapmo.org/codes-standards-development/code-development/uniform-plumbing-code and download the Water Demand Calculator at iapmo.org/we-stand/water-demand-calculator.